diff --git a/build.rs b/build.rs
index ab69a5e..fd0ee4e 100644
--- a/build.rs
+++ b/build.rs
@@ -12,5 +12,15 @@ fn main() {
         );
     }
 
+    match target_os.as_str() {
+        "linux" => {}
+        "macos" => println!(
+            "cargo::warning=traffic control is unavailable on macOS; requested rate changes will be calculated but not applied"
+        ),
+        _ => println!(
+            "cargo::warning=target `{target}` has no native interface-statistics or traffic-control backend; synthetic interface load will be used and requested rate changes will not be applied"
+        ),
+    }
+
     println!("cargo::rerun-if-changed=build.rs");
 }
diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index 7a85833..bed1f06 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -11,8 +11,6 @@ mod baseliner;
 mod config;
 mod log;
 mod metrics;
-#[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
-mod netlink;
 mod pinger;
 mod pinger_icmp;
 mod pinger_icmp_ts;
@@ -39,7 +37,7 @@ use crate::config::{Config, MeasurementType};
 use crate::pinger::{InFlightProbeCache, PingListener, PingSender};
 use crate::pinger_icmp::{PingerICMPEchoListener, PingerICMPEchoSender};
 use crate::pinger_icmp_ts::{PingerICMPTimestampListener, PingerICMPTimestampSender};
-use crate::platform::{TrafficControlBackend, traffic_control_backend};
+use crate::platform::{TrafficControlBackend, traffic_control_backend, warn_platform_limitations};
 use crate::ratecontroller::{Ratecontroller, StatsDirection};
 use crate::reflector_selector::ReflectorSelector;
 
@@ -337,11 +335,6 @@ fn run(config: Config) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
     };
 
     let mut main_traffic_control = traffic_control_backend();
-    if main_traffic_control.is_observe_only() {
-        warn!(
-            "Traffic control is observe-only on this platform; requested rate changes will not be applied."
-        );
-    }
     let (down_shaper, up_shaper) = initialize_shaper(&config, &mut main_traffic_control)?;
 
     let err_tx = error_tx.clone();
@@ -483,6 +476,7 @@ fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
 
     let config = Config::new()?;
     log::init(config.log_level)?;
+    warn_platform_limitations();
 
     run(config)
 }
diff --git a/src/platform.rs b/src/platform.rs
index 37b18c6..3dffec7 100644
--- a/src/platform.rs
+++ b/src/platform.rs
@@ -2,37 +2,21 @@
 //
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: MPL-2.0
 
-#[cfg(any(not(target_os = "linux"), test))]
-use log::debug;
-#[cfg(any(not(target_os = "linux"), test))]
-use std::collections::HashMap;
-#[cfg(any(not(target_os = "linux"), test))]
-use std::convert::Infallible;
 use std::error::Error;
-#[cfg(any(not(any(target_os = "linux", target_os = "macos")), test))]
-use thiserror::Error;
-
-#[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
-use crate::netlink::Netlink;
-
-#[cfg(target_os = "macos")]
-mod macos;
-#[cfg(target_os = "macos")]
-pub use macos::MacOsInterfaceStats;
 
 #[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug, PartialEq, Eq)]
-pub struct InterfaceStats {
-    pub rx_bytes: u64,
-    pub tx_bytes: u64,
+pub(crate) struct InterfaceStats {
+    pub(crate) rx_bytes: u64,
+    pub(crate) tx_bytes: u64,
 }
 
-pub trait InterfaceStatsProvider: Send {
+pub(crate) trait InterfaceStatsProvider: Send {
     type Error: Error + Send + Sync + 'static;
 
     fn read_stats(&mut self, interface: &str) -> Result<InterfaceStats, Self::Error>;
 }
 
-pub trait TrafficControlBackend: Send {
+pub(crate) trait TrafficControlBackend: Send {
     type Error: Error + Send + Sync + 'static;
     type Handle: Send + 'static;
 
@@ -44,138 +28,30 @@ pub trait TrafficControlBackend: Send {
         bandwidth_kbit: u64,
         dry_run: bool,
     ) -> Result<(), Self::Error>;
-
-    fn is_observe_only(&self) -> bool {
-        false
-    }
 }
 
-#[cfg(any(not(any(target_os = "linux", target_os = "macos")), test))]
-#[derive(Debug, Default)]
-pub struct UnsupportedInterfaceStats;
-
-#[cfg(any(not(any(target_os = "linux", target_os = "macos")), test))]
-#[derive(Debug, Error, PartialEq, Eq)]
-#[error("interface statistics are unsupported on target OS `{target_os}`")]
-pub struct UnsupportedInterfaceStatsError {
-    target_os: &'static str,
-}
-
-#[cfg(any(not(any(target_os = "linux", target_os = "macos")), test))]
-impl InterfaceStatsProvider for UnsupportedInterfaceStats {
-    type Error = UnsupportedInterfaceStatsError;
-
-    fn read_stats(&mut self, _: &str) -> Result<InterfaceStats, Self::Error> {
-        Err(UnsupportedInterfaceStatsError {
-            target_os: std::env::consts::OS,
-        })
-    }
-}
-
-#[cfg(any(not(target_os = "linux"), test))]
-#[derive(Clone, Debug, PartialEq, Eq)]
-pub struct ObserveOnlyShaper {
-    interface: String,
-}
-
-#[cfg(any(not(target_os = "linux"), test))]
-#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug, PartialEq, Eq)]
-struct ObserveOnlyRequest {
-    bandwidth_kbit: u64,
-    dry_run: bool,
-}
-
-#[cfg(any(not(target_os = "linux"), test))]
-#[derive(Debug, Default)]
-pub struct ObserveOnlyTrafficControl {
-    last_requests: HashMap<String, ObserveOnlyRequest>,
-}
-
-#[cfg(any(not(target_os = "linux"), test))]
-impl TrafficControlBackend for ObserveOnlyTrafficControl {
-    type Error = Infallible;
-    type Handle = ObserveOnlyShaper;
-
-    fn find_shaper(&mut self, interface: &str) -> Result<Self::Handle, Self::Error> {
-        Ok(ObserveOnlyShaper {
-            interface: interface.to_string(),
-        })
-    }
-
-    fn set_rate(
-        &mut self,
-        shaper: &Self::Handle,
-        bandwidth_kbit: u64,
-        dry_run: bool,
-    ) -> Result<(), Self::Error> {
-        debug!(
-            "Observe-only traffic control requested rate {} kbit/s for interface {} (dry_run={})",
-            bandwidth_kbit, shaper.interface, dry_run
-        );
-        self.last_requests.insert(
-            shaper.interface.clone(),
-            ObserveOnlyRequest {
-                bandwidth_kbit,
-                dry_run,
-            },
-        );
-        Ok(())
-    }
-
-    fn is_observe_only(&self) -> bool {
-        true
-    }
-}
-
-#[cfg(test)]
-#[derive(Debug, Default)]
-pub struct UnsupportedTrafficControl;
-
-#[cfg(test)]
-#[derive(Debug, PartialEq, Eq)]
-pub struct UnsupportedShaper;
-
-#[cfg(test)]
-#[derive(Debug, Error, PartialEq, Eq)]
-#[error("traffic control is unsupported on target OS `{target_os}`")]
-pub struct UnsupportedTrafficControlError {
-    target_os: &'static str,
-}
-
-#[cfg(test)]
-impl TrafficControlBackend for UnsupportedTrafficControl {
-    type Error = UnsupportedTrafficControlError;
-    type Handle = UnsupportedShaper;
-
-    fn find_shaper(&mut self, _: &str) -> Result<Self::Handle, Self::Error> {
-        Err(UnsupportedTrafficControlError {
-            target_os: std::env::consts::OS,
-        })
-    }
-
-    fn set_rate(&mut self, _: &UnsupportedShaper, _: u64, _: bool) -> Result<(), Self::Error> {
-        Err(UnsupportedTrafficControlError {
-            target_os: std::env::consts::OS,
-        })
-    }
-}
-
-#[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
-pub type PlatformInterfaceStats = Netlink;
-#[cfg(target_os = "macos")]
-pub type PlatformInterfaceStats = MacOsInterfaceStats;
-#[cfg(not(any(target_os = "linux", target_os = "macos")))]
-pub type PlatformInterfaceStats = UnsupportedInterfaceStats;
-
-#[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
-pub type PlatformTrafficControl = Netlink;
 #[cfg(not(target_os = "linux"))]
-pub type PlatformTrafficControl = ObserveOnlyTrafficControl;
+mod noop;
 
-pub fn interface_stats_provider() -> PlatformInterfaceStats {
-    PlatformInterfaceStats::default()
-}
+#[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
+mod linux;
 
-pub fn traffic_control_backend() -> PlatformTrafficControl {
-    PlatformTrafficControl::default()
-}
+#[cfg(target_os = "macos")]
+mod macos;
+
+#[cfg(not(any(target_os = "linux", target_os = "macos")))]
+mod unsupported;
+
+#[cfg(target_os = "linux")]
+use linux as imp;
+
+#[cfg(target_os = "macos")]
+use macos as imp;
+
+#[cfg(not(any(target_os = "linux", target_os = "macos")))]
+use unsupported as imp;
+
+pub(crate) use imp::{
+    PlatformInterfaceStats, PlatformTrafficControl, interface_stats_provider,
+    traffic_control_backend, warn_platform_limitations,
+};
diff --git a/src/platform/linux.rs b/src/platform/linux.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a5050fa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/platform/linux.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+// SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2026-Present Nils Andreas Svee mailto:contact@lochnair.net (github @Lochnair)
+//
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: MPL-2.0
+
+mod netlink;
+
+pub(crate) type PlatformInterfaceStats = netlink::Netlink;
+pub(crate) type PlatformTrafficControl = netlink::Netlink;
+
+pub(crate) fn interface_stats_provider() -> PlatformInterfaceStats {
+    netlink::Netlink::default()
+}
+
+pub(crate) fn traffic_control_backend() -> PlatformTrafficControl {
+    netlink::Netlink::default()
+}
+
+pub(crate) fn warn_platform_limitations() {}
diff --git a/src/netlink.rs b/src/platform/linux/netlink.rs
similarity index 91%
rename from src/netlink.rs
rename to src/platform/linux/netlink.rs
index 1efaf84..5742979 100644
--- a/src/netlink.rs
+++ b/src/platform/linux/netlink.rs
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ use thiserror::Error;
 use crate::platform::{InterfaceStats, InterfaceStatsProvider, TrafficControlBackend};
 
 #[derive(Debug, Error)]
-pub enum NetlinkError {
+pub(crate) enum NetlinkError {
     #[error("Couldn't find interface `{0}`")]
     InterfaceNotFound(String),
 
@@ -37,16 +37,16 @@ pub enum NetlinkError {
 }
 
 #[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug, PartialEq, Eq)]
-pub struct Qdisc {
-    pub ifindex: i32,
-    pub parent: u32,
+pub(crate) struct Qdisc {
+    ifindex: i32,
+    parent: u32,
 }
 
 #[derive(Debug, Default)]
-pub struct Netlink {}
+pub(crate) struct Netlink {}
 
 impl Netlink {
-    pub fn find_interface(ifname: &str) -> Result<i32, NetlinkError> {
+    fn find_interface(ifname: &str) -> Result<i32, NetlinkError> {
         let mut socket = NetlinkSocket::new();
 
         let mut request = rt_link::Request::new().op_getlink_do(&Default::default());
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ impl Netlink {
         Ok(header.ifi_index)
     }
 
-    pub fn get_interface_stats(ifname: &str) -> Result<(u64, u64), NetlinkError> {
+    fn get_interface_stats(ifname: &str) -> Result<(u64, u64), NetlinkError> {
         let mut socket = NetlinkSocket::new();
 
         let mut request = rt_link::Request::new().op_getlink_do(&Default::default());
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ impl Netlink {
         Err(NetlinkError::NoInterfaceStatsFound(ifname.to_string()))
     }
 
-    pub fn qdisc_from_ifindex(ifindex: i32, ifname: &str) -> Result<Qdisc, NetlinkError> {
+    fn qdisc_from_ifindex(ifindex: i32, ifname: &str) -> Result<Qdisc, NetlinkError> {
         let mut socket = NetlinkSocket::new();
         let header = tc::Tcmsg::new();
         let request = tc::Request::new().op_getqdisc_dump(&header);
@@ -105,12 +105,12 @@ impl Netlink {
         Err(NetlinkError::NoQdiscFound(ifname.to_string()))
     }
 
-    pub fn qdisc_from_ifname(ifname: &str) -> Result<Qdisc, NetlinkError> {
+    fn qdisc_from_ifname(ifname: &str) -> Result<Qdisc, NetlinkError> {
         let ifindex = Netlink::find_interface(ifname)?;
         Netlink::qdisc_from_ifindex(ifindex, ifname)
     }
 
-    pub fn set_qdisc_rate(
+    fn set_qdisc_rate(
         qdisc: Qdisc,
         bandwidth_kbit: u64,
         dry_run: bool,
diff --git a/src/platform/macos.rs b/src/platform/macos.rs
index 53bf94a..c4bf5e8 100644
--- a/src/platform/macos.rs
+++ b/src/platform/macos.rs
@@ -7,15 +7,17 @@ use std::io;
 use std::mem::size_of;
 use std::ptr;
 
+use log::warn;
 use thiserror::Error;
 
-use super::{InterfaceStats, InterfaceStatsProvider};
+use super::noop::NoopTrafficControl;
+use crate::platform::{InterfaceStats, InterfaceStatsProvider};
 
 const ROUTE_MESSAGE_PREFIX_LEN: usize = size_of::<libc::c_ushort>() + 2;
 const SYSCTL_FETCH_ATTEMPTS: usize = 3;
 
 #[derive(Debug, Error)]
-pub enum MacOsInterfaceStatsError {
+pub(crate) enum MacOsInterfaceStatsError {
     #[error("interface name contains a NUL byte")]
     InterfaceNameContainsNul(#[source] NulError),
 
@@ -41,7 +43,7 @@ pub enum MacOsInterfaceStatsError {
 }
 
 #[derive(Debug, Default)]
-pub struct MacOsInterfaceStats;
+pub(crate) struct MacOsInterfaceStats;
 
 impl InterfaceStatsProvider for MacOsInterfaceStats {
     type Error = MacOsInterfaceStatsError;
@@ -197,3 +199,20 @@ fn parse_route_messages(
         interface_index: requested_interface_index,
     })
 }
+
+pub(crate) type PlatformInterfaceStats = MacOsInterfaceStats;
+pub(crate) type PlatformTrafficControl = NoopTrafficControl;
+
+pub(crate) fn interface_stats_provider() -> PlatformInterfaceStats {
+    MacOsInterfaceStats
+}
+
+pub(crate) fn traffic_control_backend() -> PlatformTrafficControl {
+    NoopTrafficControl
+}
+
+pub(crate) fn warn_platform_limitations() {
+    warn!(
+        "Traffic control is unavailable on macOS; requested rate changes will be calculated but not applied."
+    );
+}
diff --git a/src/platform/noop.rs b/src/platform/noop.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..05c5e5b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/platform/noop.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+// SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2026-Present Nils Andreas Svee mailto:contact@lochnair.net (github @Lochnair)
+//
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: MPL-2.0
+
+use crate::platform::TrafficControlBackend;
+use log::debug;
+use std::convert::Infallible;
+
+#[derive(Clone, Debug, PartialEq, Eq)]
+pub(crate) struct NoopShaper {
+    interface: String,
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Default)]
+pub(crate) struct NoopTrafficControl;
+
+impl TrafficControlBackend for NoopTrafficControl {
+    type Error = Infallible;
+    type Handle = NoopShaper;
+
+    fn find_shaper(&mut self, interface: &str) -> Result<Self::Handle, Self::Error> {
+        Ok(NoopShaper {
+            interface: interface.to_string(),
+        })
+    }
+
+    fn set_rate(
+        &mut self,
+        shaper: &Self::Handle,
+        bandwidth_kbit: u64,
+        dry_run: bool,
+    ) -> Result<(), Self::Error> {
+        debug!(
+            "Ignoring traffic-control rate request of {} kbit/s for interface {} (dry_run={})",
+            bandwidth_kbit, shaper.interface, dry_run
+        );
+        Ok(())
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/platform/unsupported.rs b/src/platform/unsupported.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8119fd9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/platform/unsupported.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+// SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2026-Present Nils Andreas Svee mailto:contact@lochnair.net (github @Lochnair)
+//
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: MPL-2.0
+
+use std::collections::HashMap;
+use std::convert::Infallible;
+use std::time::{Duration, Instant};
+
+use log::warn;
+
+use crate::platform::noop::NoopTrafficControl;
+use crate::platform::{InterfaceStats, InterfaceStatsProvider};
+
+// Synthetic rates are fixed per interface and intentionally conservative. Counter increments are
+// derived from elapsed monotonic time, so changing the polling frequency does not change the
+// apparent traffic rate.
+const SYNTHETIC_RX_KBIT_RANGE: std::ops::RangeInclusive<u64> = 500..=25_000;
+const SYNTHETIC_TX_KBIT_RANGE: std::ops::RangeInclusive<u64> = 250..=10_000;
+const INITIAL_COUNTER_BYTES: u64 = 1;
+
+#[derive(Debug)]
+struct SyntheticInterfaceState {
+    rx_bytes: u64,
+    tx_bytes: u64,
+    rx_kbit: u64,
+    tx_kbit: u64,
+    last_update: Instant,
+}
+
+impl SyntheticInterfaceState {
+    fn new(now: Instant) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            rx_bytes: INITIAL_COUNTER_BYTES,
+            tx_bytes: INITIAL_COUNTER_BYTES,
+            rx_kbit: fastrand::u64(SYNTHETIC_RX_KBIT_RANGE),
+            tx_kbit: fastrand::u64(SYNTHETIC_TX_KBIT_RANGE),
+            last_update: now,
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn update(&mut self, now: Instant) {
+        let elapsed = now.saturating_duration_since(self.last_update);
+        self.rx_bytes = self
+            .rx_bytes
+            .saturating_add(bytes_for_elapsed(elapsed, self.rx_kbit));
+        self.tx_bytes = self
+            .tx_bytes
+            .saturating_add(bytes_for_elapsed(elapsed, self.tx_kbit));
+        self.last_update = now;
+    }
+}
+
+fn bytes_for_elapsed(elapsed: Duration, bitrate_kbit: u64) -> u64 {
+    let bytes = elapsed
+        .as_nanos()
+        .saturating_mul(u128::from(bitrate_kbit))
+        .saturating_mul(1_000)
+        / 8_000_000_000;
+    u64::try_from(bytes).unwrap_or(u64::MAX)
+}
+
+#[derive(Debug, Default)]
+pub(crate) struct SyntheticInterfaceStats {
+    interfaces: HashMap<String, SyntheticInterfaceState>,
+}
+
+impl InterfaceStatsProvider for SyntheticInterfaceStats {
+    type Error = Infallible;
+
+    fn read_stats(&mut self, interface: &str) -> Result<InterfaceStats, Self::Error> {
+        let now = Instant::now();
+        let state = self
+            .interfaces
+            .entry(interface.to_string())
+            .or_insert_with(|| SyntheticInterfaceState::new(now));
+        state.update(now);
+
+        Ok(InterfaceStats {
+            rx_bytes: state.rx_bytes,
+            tx_bytes: state.tx_bytes,
+        })
+    }
+}
+
+pub(crate) type PlatformInterfaceStats = SyntheticInterfaceStats;
+pub(crate) type PlatformTrafficControl = NoopTrafficControl;
+
+pub(crate) fn interface_stats_provider() -> PlatformInterfaceStats {
+    SyntheticInterfaceStats::default()
+}
+
+pub(crate) fn traffic_control_backend() -> PlatformTrafficControl {
+    NoopTrafficControl
+}
+
+pub(crate) fn warn_platform_limitations() {
+    warn!(
+        "This operating system has no native interface-statistics or traffic-control backend; synthetic interface load will be used and requested rate changes will not be applied."
+    );
+}